I'm Only Human
by Rand-chan
Summary: ONESHOT: A holiday story. Better understood if you have read chapters 1 through 19 of The Other Side of the Story, my fic. Something fishy is going on and Reine is determined to find out.


**I'm Only Human**

This is a ministory from The Other Side of the Story, my main fic. You have to have read up to Chapter 19 to understand this fully. I hope you enjoy! This oneshot has some plot and character development, but it won't kill if you don't read this.

* * *

**AN: **This is in Reine's POV

I sighed. It's been at least a month since the incident in Switzerland. At least all the whispers have died down about what happened to Tamayo.

_'Why do people have to be so nosey? It's none of their business.'_

A sudden shout snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Oi! Reine! Wait up!"

Turning around, I spotted a hyperactive blonde waving frantically.

_'Okay, who gave him sugar?'_

"Hey Max," I answered wearily, "What's up?"

"Nothing really," he answered after looking thoughtful for a couple of seconds before perking up, "Are you looking forward to winter break? It's the day after tomorrow!"

"Not really," I answered monotonously.

_'Where the hell is Kai? He's late. He didn't even pick me up this morning. Since Max is here, there obviously wasn't practice.'_

By now, most of the town has warmed up to the bladers. Mr. Dickenson's plan obviously worked, which I'm thankful for. They're even building a new BBA building for little kids.

"Reine…Reine…REINE!"

Snapping out of my thoughts, I noticed that Max has been calling my name and poking my arm for the past few minutes.

_'I gotta stop zoning out like that.'_

"Yeah, what is it Max?" I asked wearily, afraid of what his answer might be.

"Have you seen Kai this morning?" He scratched the back of his head, "I haven't seen him. He was already gone by the time I woke up. He's usually with you so I thought you might know."

_'So he wasn't with the Bladebreakers at all. Okay, now I'm curious. Where the hell was he?'_

"Sorry Max, I don't know. I haven't seen him at all," I answered truthfully.

"Now that's strange. Do you think something might've happened to him?"

"Maybe…"

Okay, now I was scared, but Kai was a big boy, right? He can take care of himself…I hope. Unfortunately, the Skullz was still at large.

The rest of the way to school was quiet as we lost ourselves in our thoughts. Walking absentmindedly into courtyard, I was immediately mobbed by a group of people.

"Have you heard?"

"I can't believe they're doing this!"

"What're you going to do?"

"Where's Kai?"

_'Argh…my head.'_

"Whoa guys! One at a time!" I managed to scream before everyone stopped talking at once, "Okay, now backup and give me back my personal space."

Everyone stepped back slowly. Looking at the group, I saw the usual faces. There was Sukie Maori, vice president of the Student Council and the second class representative of 2F **(AN: Don't tell me you already forgot her? ;) If you did, check chapter 2 of The Other Side of the Story. Be sure to remember her. –hint hint–)**, Yamie Mie, Sai Okayama, Osaka Niigata, and Yume Kochi. I raised my eyebrows.

_'Where are Eris and Toji?'_

Looking a bit farther back, I caught them sitting together under the sakura tree. Smirking to myself, I turned my attention back to the eager group.

"Okay, what?"

Yume was first to pipe up.

"Did you hear? We're setting up Christmas decorations!"

Sukie nodded in agreement before adding, "Plus there's going to be a gift exchange, sort of like Secret Santa."

"Fuuuun," I drawled.

_'I hope I don't get anyone who I particularly don't like…that might not be pretty.'_

"And that's not all!" Yume continued with a wink, "There'll be spots around school where mistletoe will be hung so beware."

"That's why I can't believe they're doing this!" Yamie protested, "It's not physically healthy! Who knows what you're going to catch!"

"God, you're such a drama queen," Yume said as she rolled her eyes, "Cheer up a bit. It's the holidays!"

"That reminds me, what're you going to do for Christmas?" Osaka asked softly, a blush tinting her cheeks.

_'What am I going to do for Christmas? Probably get everyone presents and that will be…oh crap… over 50 freaking presents!'_

"Crap!"

"What?" Osaka asked, curious.

_'Tell me I didn't say that out loud.'_

**_/You did./_** Esilé replied.

_'Thanks a lot, Esilé,'_ I thought sarcastically only to hear her thrum good naturedly.

"I just realized I forgot to buy a few presents," I answered sheepishly.

_'Oh yeah…only a **few**. Someone kill me now.'_

"Oh, well, I was thinking about going clubbing as a celebration," she suggested shyly.

"That's a great idea!" Yume stated excitedly as ideas of possible outfits flew through her mind.

"Yeah, my cousin owns a club downtown," Osaka said, her eyes twinkling excitedly.

"Um yeah, sounds good," I muttered absentmindedly, trying to think about what I'm going to get everyone…all 51 of them.

"Where's Kai?"

"Uh?" was all I could say.

_'Oh yeah, real smart Reine.'_

"Sorry, what?" I asked, embarrassed.

"I asked where Kai was," Sai repeated.

"Haven't seen him all day," I replied, "I haven't a clue where he is. Why?"

"Nothing," Sai grunted before walking away.

I cocked an eyebrow.

_'Okay…'_

An awkward silence ensued before a cough interrupted. Turning around, I faced a haggard Tala. He hasn't taken Tamayo's condition well. She's currently in a coma and the only sign she was still alive was the heart monitor beside her bed.

"Hey Tala," I greeted. I faintly registered angry glares cast my way by some envious girls.

_'Can't they tell he's not interested? Besides, he's taken.'_

"Will come with me, after school, to help me with something?" he asked awkwardly, his grip tightening ever so slightly on his school bag.

"Sure, Tala. I'll be happy to come," I answered, scrutinizing him under a careful eye, "You did remember to eat breakfast, right?"

"Yeah," he mumbled before walking away. I shook my head at his retreating figure. Ever since Operation STD in November, he's been in depression. It's currently worsening with every day since the doctors said there was a possibility that Tamayo will never wake up. He continues to blame himself for being so blind about Celine and even about the fight he had with Tamayo just before she fell into her current condition.

_'He needs to get it through that thick skull of his that it wasn't his fault.'_

**_/So do you. You know as well as I do, little one, that you still blame yourself to some extent about what happened./_**

_'I, as the head of the operation, had responsibility over my comrades. If anything happened to them, then it would ultimately be my fault.'_

**_/Some things just happen and you can't control them, no matter how hard you try,/_** Esilé hummed soothingly.

'_I know, but that feeling will always be there as long as Tamayo is in the hospital.'_

_**/You know as well as I do about what I'm talking about,/** _Esilé scolded sternly.

'_Yeah, but Aliahe…she's dead. If what Gin said was true, then it would be all my fault.'_

Esilé snorted, **_/Do you really think scum like him tell the truth?/_**

'…'

I knew that he would probably tell me a lie, but looking at the circumstances, it's plausible. The distant ringing of the school bell snapped me out of my reverie as I trudged to the school. No one noticed me zoning out. Everyone was just preoccupied with the holiday season, but that reminds me, I _still_ don't know where Kai is. Suddenly I saw Brooklyn's head bobbing through the crowd. How can anyone miss his ginger-colored hair?

"Hey Brooklyn," I greeted.

"Reine," he answered as he strolled luxuriously to his next class.

"By any chance, have you seen Kai?" I asked curiously.

"I thought I saw him earlier with Sai," he answered, "Why?"

"Oh, no reason," I murmured. _'At least Sai found him. I wonder why she was looking for him.'_

Squeals interrupted my thoughts. Looking ahead, I saw none other than the devil himself with Sai…standing under mistletoe. I faintly felt my eyebrow twitch.

_'Calm down. He would never cheat on you. You know that. Shame on you!' _I scolded myself as they leaned down and pecked each other on the lips. I shuddered. I just can't stand it.

"Calm down, Reine. Green isn't your color," Brooklyn commented, amused.

"Shut up," I hissed as I felt myself flush. Onlookers glanced at us curiously, not helping my situation at all.

"Yo, Reine!" Toji greeted as he walked down the hall hand in hand with Eris.

_'About time they get together. At least one good thing came out of Operation DTS.'_

"Hey," I answered.

"Look up," Eris giggled. I just stared at her.

_'What can be that funny? Okay, so I'm flushed and a little jealous, but she shouldn't be able to tell.'_

Taking her advice, I looked up only to flush even more.

_'Holy shit,'_ was the only thing going through my mind. Turning around, I glanced at Brooklyn. He looked quite amused as he caught sight of the mistletoe.

"Go ahead, Reine," Toji egged on only for me to shoot him a withering glare. Turning back to tell Brooklyn that we should just pretend we didn't only for him to peck me on the lips just like I saw Kai do to Sai. By now, I'm sure I'm the shade of Tala's hair.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it, Reine?" he asked good naturedly before sauntering off, leaving me stuttering in his wake.

With a mental scream of frustration, I stomped to Calculus. The period went by quickly with the teacher only talking the annual Christmas fair **(AN: This will be talked about in Chapter 20)**.

When the bell finally rang again, I quickly gathered my stuff and hurried out into the hall. Japanese was next, but Oyami-sama decided to give us the day off seeing it's only two more days till break. Sighing with annoyance, I sat down in my usual seat and took out my sketch book. Time flew by as I continued to work on my sketch of Esilé.

_'Well, what'd you think?'_

_**/Beautiful, little one. You've talent./**_

I smirked at her comment. I knew I was good.

**_/Ever so modest,/_** Esilé snorted.

_'Yeah, yeah.'_

I continued to sketch as I slowly but surely saw Esilé's magnificent form come to life on the page. The bell broke me out of my thoughts. Packing up my stuff, I hurried to History. Unfortunately, we weren't lucky enough to have a free day so for an entire 90 minutes, I had to sit through a lecture about the Meiji era. The content wasn't so bad, but the way Mr. Hotashi presented it made it so _boring_. I'm surprised I didn't died from boredom.

Not soon enough, the bell rang again as I thanked the god above for this miracle. Heaving my bag over my shoulder, I hurried out into the chilly air. I immediately spotted the gang sitting under the sakura. The number of people in our group has grown _drastically_ over the semester.

"Reine!" Yume waved from next to Yamie. I smirked as I remember his expression when he realized to he was standing under the mistletoe next to Yume.

"What're you smirking about?" Yume asked curiously as I took a seat between her and Osaka.

"Oh nothing, nothing at all," I answered nonchalantly.

"Right," she said uncertainly before turning to talk to Yamie again.

Half of lunch was over before I realized I hadn't touched my food at all.

"Reine, is something wrong?" I heard Eris ask worriedly. Suddenly everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to stare at me. I sweatdropped at their reaction.

"No, nothing at all," I managed to say before she stood up and dragged me away. Once we were safely away from prying ears behind the main building, she turned to me, her hands on her hips as she glared at me.

"Okay, spill. What's going on between you and Kai? He's been avoiding you all day."

I stared quizzically at her.

"He was avoiding _me_ all day?"

_'That explains why I haven't seen hair or hide of him all day except for his little 'kiss' with Sai under the mistletoe. Why was he with her anyway?'_

Eris sighed in annoyance.

"You mean you haven't notice?" she asked exasperated.

"Yeah, I noticed that he wasn't anywhere near me and the only time I saw him was with Sai under the mistletoe."

Eris just gaped at me.

"He was with Sai under the mistletoe?" she said slowly.

"No, I just said that for the heck of it," I muttered sarcastically. She shot me a cold glare.

"I'll just pretend I never heard that. Anyway, do you think he could, you know, be cheating on you?"

I snorted at the absurdity.

_'That can never happen, can it?'_

"What? Cheating on me with Sai? I have more trust in Kai than that."

Eris looked ashamed.

"Yeah, sorry. I don't know what overcame me to suggest that."

Nodding, I headed back out only to dart back behind the building again, peaking out behind the safe walls.

"What the hell are you doing?" Eris asked only for me to put a hand over her mouth. Faint voices reached our ears as Kai and Sai walked into view.

"You sure you want to do this?" Sai asked as she eyed Kai. He simply nodded as she sighed.

"Okay, it's your death," she muttered before walking away, "I can't believe I'm doing this."

I turned and looked Eris who just cocked her eyebrow at me, shrugging.

_'This is interesting. What were they talking about?'_

Shortly after eavesdropping on Kai and Sai's conversation, we returned to the sakura tree only to have the bell ring.  
_'Damn. I never got to eat lunch.'_

Heading to gym, I quickly changed and started stretching.

'_Only one more day of beyblading before we move onto something else. I wonder what's next.'_

"Tanaka!" Kai barked, snapping me out of my thoughts. I raised my eyebrow at his tone.

'_Since when were we on last name bases?'_

"Yeah?" I asked as I walked up.

"Ten laps, now," he ordered before walking away leaving me to curse his very existence.

Ten laps later, we were training on an obstacle course. Apparently, nothing I do is right.

'_I wonder what the hell crawled up his ass and died,'_ I snarled silently.

Finally the day was over. I sighed. This has to be one of the worst days ever. First, Kai ignores me all day and acts all bitchy.

'_Maybe he has male PMS,'_ I thought, amused before going back to my list.

Second, I got caught under the mistletoe with at least 3 different guys. Thank god Kai wasn't there to see it. And finally third, the torture Kai put me through in gym. Grumbling under my breath, I walked out of the school only to bump into Osaka standing by the gate.

"Osaka?" I asked as I eyed her. She shifted uncomfortably under my gaze before handing me a sheet of paper with an address on it. Looking at her questioningly, she answered, "That's the address to the club tonight."

"Oh," I said as realization hit me. Nodding my thanks, Osaka walked away.

_'What to wear? That's the question. But now, it's time to work on Tala's dilemma.'_

Catching sight of the redhead, I walked over.

"Hey Tala. What'd you need?" I asked he started to walk towards town with me in tow.

"We're going to the mall. I need…help buying Tamayo's Christmas present. I don't know what she likes," he murmured as he dug his hands deeper into his pockets. I nodded in understanding and found myself in the mall with the last person I ever thought I would show up at the mall with.

"Let's see, she likes books. She also missed a lot of movies, so DVD's might be a good choice," I said as I ticked off the choices on my fingers. Tala only nodded as he looked at the various stores.

"Oh, she also likes simple jewelry. Intricate ones are too girly for her."

"Then do you think she'll like that one right there?" Tala finally asked as he pointed to a set of simple yet elegant emerald earrings. I nodded in approval as he walked in to get them. While he was gone, I took the liberty to look around the mall. What I saw in Victoria's Secret took my breath away, literally. I made a weird choking sound when I saw Kai and Sai going through lady lingerie. It's not Sai but rather Kai that made me just stare. Kai and lingerie store does not, I repeat, _does not_ go together especially if the former is your _boyfriend_.

"That's not who I think it is, is it?" Tala asked when he came out and caught sight of what I was gaping at.

"God I hope not," I answered truthfully, "Let's just pretend we never saw that."

_'If my guess is correct, Kai will get decked if he gets me **that **__for Christmas.'_

Waving goodbye to Tala as we parted ways at the mall, I headed back home to get ready for the clubbing later. I had mentioned it on the passing to Tala, but he declined saying that he's going to go visit Tamayo in the hospital.

The trip home was uneventful. I just couldn't get over the image of Kai and Sai digging through lingerie in Victoria's Secret. Shaking my head, I walked inside the warm and toasty house I call home.

'_Hopefully clubbing will get that image out of my head._'

Finally, it was eight and both Eris and I were ready. She decided to wear a white shirt with a pink miniskirt and black boots while I went for the simple look and wore a simple black t-shirt and tight jeans. Just as we were walking out of the house, Eris stopped me.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Kai is the person you have to get a present for. Just don't get anything too kinky," she said as she winked at me. I flushed as I remember seeing Kai and Sai in the mall.

"I won't!" I bit out as Eris smirked at me.

'_Great, she put that image back in my head. God, that's just embarrassing.'_

Without anymore incidents, we finally arrived at the club. I could hear the techno beat even out on the street. Funny thing is, I never even knew there was a club here.

"Hey guys! Over here!"

Looking over at the door, I saw Yume, Osaka, and a _hot_, and I mean _hot_, guy standing next to the bouncers.

"Reine, you know you have a boyfriend, right?" Yume giggled, nudging me in the ribs. I gave her a glare in reply.

'_Yeah, a boyfriend who likes to look at lingerie in Victoria's Secret.'_

"Well, this is my cousin, Haru," Osaka's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Nice to meet you," he said with a grin. His gray eyes had the boyish twinkle most have lost already at the age of 20 and his snowy hair was swept to the side. I noticed that his right ear was pierced and the gold stud flashed in the disco lights shining through the doorway.

"Are you going to just stand there or go in?" Eris asked, amused by my ogling of Osaka's cousin, "If you keep standing like that with your mouth wide open, you're going to attract flies."

"Right," I muttered, embarrassed at having been caught not once but _twice_.

Walking into the club, a wave of upbeat music washed over me. I could only blink as my eyes adjusted to the new atmosphere.

'_Nice.'_

"We'll be over by those side tables!" Eris yelled into my ear as Yume dragged her away with Osaka following behind. I nodded to show that I heard.

"I take it that you like the place," a smooth voice interrupted my thoughts as I looked around. Startled, I turned and looked at the source. The first thing I noticed were his eyes as he looked down at me.

"This place is awesome," I stated, grinning widely as he smirked.

"I know," was all he said.

"Oh, you're so modest," I replied sarcastically only for him to laugh good naturedly. Calming down, he led me to a table close to Yume and the others.

"So I heard you have a boyfriend. Where is he now?" he asked, genuinely interested as we sat down.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him all day," I replied, looking away.

'_I don't think it'll be okay to tell him the last time I saw him, he was in the mall with a friend of mine looking through things he **shouldn't** even be thinking about.'_

"Oh, so it's _that_ kind of relationship," he stated calmly as he ordered a drink for himself, "What'd you like?"

"Pepsi," I answered, shooting the waiter a smile before looking back out at the dance floor full of writhing bodies moving to the beat of the music, "And it's not what you think. Something just…happened, that's all."

He nodded in understanding.

"I get you."

Our conversation was interrupted when Yume bounced over.

"Let's dance!" she shouted, dragging me out of my spot.

"Sorry!" I mouthed back at Haru only for him to grin and mouth back, "Have fun!"

Making our way to the middle of the dance floor, we started to join the crowd as we moved to the beat.

"How do you like Haru?" Yume asked, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"He's cool. I like him," I answered, concentrating more on the music than the conversation.

"So, do you think he's better than Kai?"

That got my attention. I stopped and looked at her.

"What?" I asked, "Repeat that question again."

"Do you think he's better than Kai?"

I just stared.

"What? Why would you think that?" I asked, dumbfounded.

Yume looked away.

"No reason. I think he might like you, that's all."

I laughed.

'_No way does Osaka's cousin like me. We only met a few minutes ago. He's a cool guy and all, but not my type.'_

"Hey! I was being serious!" Yume pouted as we started to dance again. From that point on, I lost all senses of my surroundings as music pumped through my body. I only snapped out of my music-induced trance when Eris nudged me in the side.

_'When did she get here? Oh well, probably when I wasn't paying attention.'_

"Look who just came through the door!" she hissed, barely loud enough for me to hear.

Looking at the doorway, I saw Kai walking in, acting as cool as ever.

_'What's he doing here? I don't think anyone told him about our little "celebration" tonight.'_

I saw Haru walk up to him and introduce himself while Kai just glared at him.

_'Same old Kai,'_ I thought dryly as he brushed off the older man before sitting at_ our table._

"Hey!" I heard Yume cry indignantly. I barely noticed because I saw him lean in and whisper conspiratorially in Osaka's ear.

_'There he goes again with the secrets. I wonder what's up.'_

I noted that Osaka nodded to whatever he said.

_'Reminder to self: Interrogate Osaka later.'_

"I wonder what that was all about," Eris whispered.

"Yeah, me too," Yume replied, sending a glare at Osaka.

I watched silently as Kai walked out.

_'Something's fishy here and I'm going to find out what.'_

The rest of the night went without anymore incidents. By the time we had to leave, I couldn't feel my feet anymore.

"Hope you girls had a good time," Haru said as he grinned down at us. Did I forget to mention he was 6'2"? That's good couple of inches taller than Kai.

"Thanks for everything," Osaka said, beaming up at her cousin.

_'Aww! That's so sweet! Feel the love!'_

Okay, now I'm just getting mushy. Must be those hours of dancing catching up to me.

"Bye Haru. Have a great night," I called as we turned away and walked towards home. He waved from going back inside, but not before sending me a wink. I blushed. Maybe that was a bad sign?

"Oh! There she goes again, Miss Rosy-Cheeks!" Yume teased as Osaka giggled.

"Shut up, Yume," I growled dangerously as she started to laugh, "By the way, where was Yamie and Toji tonight? Weren't they going to come with us?"

The girls looked at each other.

"We don't know," they chimed at the same time while I raised an eyebrow.

_'Kai's not the only one acting fishy.'_

"Right, I'll pretend I just didn't realize that something's _off_ with everyone," I drawled as I turned away.

"That works fine with us!" Yume chirped before smirking dangerously at me, "You have no clue what you're in for."

_'I don't even want to know.'_

The next day came and went. Everything stayed the same, even the fact that Kai was acting like a complete asshole with a stick up his butt and the whole ignoring thing, _even when I gave him his present!_

_'That bastard,'_ I growled as my eye twitched dangerously. Whoever had me as their person never got me a thing. Oh well. In case you're wondering what I got Kai, I got him the latest beyblade gear along with a brand new scarf. I was tempted to buy a pink one but thought better of it, with him in his mood and all.

_'Seems like we're back at square one,'_ I sighed.

The good thing was only a couple minutes to go before school is out for winter break. The bad, we're leaving soon to go to Sidney, Australia in three days to take down that base and hopefully rescue Durby's sister. Even worse, we're leaving Tamayo here because she hasn't shown any signs of coming out of her coma. Tala wasn't looking so well either.

"Argh!"

I ruffled my hair in annoyance. So much to think about and plan, yet so little time. At least we manage to find out more about what the Skullz want and who was pulling the strings behind stage, but it doesn't help us figure out _how_ to stop them.

Walking out the door of the gym, I was pulled to the side as Sai put her hand over my mouth and shushed me. When she finally let go of my mouth, I jumped away and hissed, "What the hell are you doing?"

She looked calmly at me before saying the thing I dreaded most.

"The Skullz are in town and apparently has everyone hostage at Exterminate."

_'Exterminate? Isn't that Haru's club?'_

"Who does 'everyone' include?" I asked.

"Everyone."

I hissed in annoyance. There is no way _everyone_ would get caught. As if reading my mind, Sai continued.

"It was a surprise attack and everyone was disarmed before they realized what was happening. I was passing by when I saw it happen so I managed to come here without them realizing. Apparently Haru is part of the Skullz organization."

I just stood there, rooted to the spot with shock.

_'Okay, so I misjudged someone. Even better, everyone is a hostage in that club and how the hell am I supposed to get them all out, **alone**?'_

**_/Ahem./_**

_'I mean just me and Esilé.'_

"Okay, here's what we're going to do," I said as my mind whirled quickly with scenarios of how to approach this situation, "You get the police and I go get them."

**_/That's dangerous and foolish. Do you even think she'll agree-/_**

"Sounds good to me," Sai replied before running off. I sweatdropped at her reaction.

_'As you were saying?'_

Esilé just coughed before becoming completely quiet.

Building up my determination, I ran towards Exterminate.

_'How could I not have noticed his evil aura? _**(AN: What evil aura? XD)**_'_ I berated myself.

Reaching the said place, I noticed how unusually quiet it was.

_'That can't be a good sign, can it?'_

I tried, _tried_ being the keyword, to open the door quietly, but like always, luck seemed to have abandoned me as it creaked loudly as it slowly crawled open.

_'Not exactly a good start, but it can't be **that** bad, can it? _**(AN: You have _no_ idea.)**_'_

Suddenly, the lights were flicked on and I found myself in a room packed with grunts.

_'Oops, spoke too soon.'_

"We've been waiting for you!" one sneered as he stepped forward.

"Prepare to meet your doom!"

"You'll be bored to death by the extremely long and boring history Rob– Hey! Ow! Oh right. You'll die a slow and painful death!"

I raised an eyebrow.

_'Rob? Was he going to say Robert?'_

One of the grunts stepped forward. He looked a lot tougher than most of the grunts. He coughed as he shot the blonde grunt a glare.

_'Damn! It's hard to read their expressions when they where freaking masks! Don't they usually battle with them off? Oh well, uniform details. Pha! Who cares!'_

"Are you ready to hand over your bitbeast?" he growled before whipping out his blue blade and launcher.

"Never," I growled back, yet again puzzled as some of the grunts started to snicker. They quieted down soon enough when their partners elbowed them in the ribs.

"Let's get started!" he said before launching his beyblade.

"Destroy her!"

I gritted my teeth as released Esilé.

"Let's finish this quick! Slam him!"

Esilé quickly swerved around the spinning blade before slamming into it. Surprisingly, it didn't budge. My eyebrows furrowed at this.

_'Damn! He's good, and only a grunt? I wonder how power the rest are.'_

"Are you having a hard time?" he sneered as he swerved back and slammed into Esilé. I felt myself slip back a few inches.

_'Okay, this isn't good.'_

He barely gave me enough time to recover before coming back for another slam. I felt Esilé wobble this time.

_'He must have that new gear the BBA recently developed. I knew I should've gotten some for myself!'_

Unfortunately, I had spent all my money buying gifts for all 51 of my friends. I am dead broke.

"Esilé! Try to slam him again!"

My orange blade backed away from his navy one before revving and slamming into him with the same result as last time.

I could feel the grunt smirk as he tasted his upcoming victory.

_'And I can taste my bitter defeat.'_

I winced as the thought crossed my mind. To tell the truth, I'm currently undefeated and I plan to keep it that way. Of course, I've always had that nagging feeling that one day, I'll be defeated horribly and I won't take it well.

_'Well, let's not make that defeat to a simple Skullz grunt, even thought he's a freaking **strong** Skullz grunt.'_

"What's the matter? You afraid?" he taunted as I growled.

"Hell no! Esi–"

But before I could finish my command, his blade came in for the kill and my blade went flying over my shoulder before landing behind me with a soft, yet distinguishable, click. I was shocked. _This_ was that oh so horrible and humiliating defeat I've been worrying about. I mean, _I freaking lost to a Skullz grunt! How much worse can it be?_ Oh wait, spoke too soon, again.

The rest of the grunts started to snicker and some started to out right laugh.

_'I'm screwed. I couldn't even defeat one of them and now there's still…what? 50 more grunts to deal with. I'm dead.'_

"Nice try, little girl, but you'll never defeat me!" the triumphant grunt said as he retrieved his blade.

_'Hm, now would be a good time to let loose Clytem. They would never know.'_

My hand inched to my pocket only to be stopped when one of the grunts loaded his blade and aimed it at me.

"Don't even think about it," he said calmly as I lowered my hand again.

_'Shit.'_

Suddenly, one of them came up behind me and blindfolded me before another picked me up like a potato sack.

_'Now I know how potatoes feel.'_

I was dumped onto…a leather couch? Suddenly my blind fold was removed and I was temporarily blinded when all of them whipped off their masks and shouted, "SURPRISE! MERRY CHRISTMAS REINE AND HAPPY FIRST MONTH ANNIVERSARY!"

"Uh?" was my oh so intelligent answer as a familiar two-toned blader came up to me and kissed me on the cheek.

"Don't tell me you forgot our anniversary?"

I mentally smacked myself as I laughed nervously.

"Of course not…"

_'Shit! Forgot to get him a present for that!'_

He laughed. God that was a beautiful sound…and so unlike Kai. I raised my eyebrow for the umpteenth time that day.

_'He must have something bad for him if he's laughing.'_

"If you're wondering about your present, don't worry. I got what I wanted – Your Oh So Horrible and Humiliating Defeat."

_'How the hell did he know about…wait…Eris.'_

I turned and glared at my innocent looking, yet not so innocent, twin sister of mine who I desperately want to strangle.

"Well, how do you like your surprise?" Sai asked calmly.

"It wa– what the hell? Sai? Aren't you suppose to be at the police station?" I spluttered.

She rolled her eyes.

"For someone that's supposed to be smart, you sure are dumb," Johnny said as he smirked at me. I glowered back at him.

"And dense," Toji added, not being helpful at all.

"All in all, I hope you like your surprise and the party we're throwing you," a familiar voice said.

Turning around, I caught sight of Haru.

"So you're not part of the Skullz, right?" I asked nervously.

He grinned.

"Nope, I'm tattoo free."

I fumed.

_'Damn it! I look like a complete idiot!'_

**_/You were foolish this time,/_** Esilé teased.

_'You're not helping, Esilé,'_ I glared as she smirked at me before fading into the back of my mind.

**_/Enjoy yourself, little one, because you won't have time later./_**

My thoughts were interrupted by someone shoving a present into my lap.

_'Why do they always interrupt my thoughts? They got to stop doing that.'_

"Open it!" Yume's voice shouted as I started at the brightly wrapped present sprinkled with confetti.

"Okay…"

Ripping open the paper **(AN: Reine's not the neatest person nor the most patient)** she saw the latest beyblade gear she gave to Kai. She mentally smacked herself again.

_'Damn! Why didn't I notice that he might possibly be the grunt?'_

"Thanks Yume! I wanted this," I said as I smiled at her.

"I know, especially after your humiliating defeat at the hands of Kai due to this gear."

My expression turned sour as I remembered it, but it didn't remain long as we turned back to the huge stack of presents in the back.

"Someone needs to distribute all the gifts."

An hour later, we were spread throughout the club comfortably, chatting aimlessly about how cool and wonderful everyone's presents were. Suddenly, it became silent. I turned and saw everyone looking at Brooklyn and Sukie. Looking a little higher, I saw the mistletoe.

_'I'm just glad it's not me.'_

Everyone watched in suspenseful silence as Brooklyn and Sukie leaned in and kissed each other. It wasn't just a small peck, friendly kiss. Oh no, it was a full-blown tongue and all kiss. I felt my eyes widen. I think it finally clicked on what the deal Brooklyn made with Tamayo was. It was the only one that made sense. Soon, it was over as the new couple walked away to chat somewhere quiet. As the silence set in once more, I felt my thoughts drift back to my presents. I received 'The Open Door' by Evanescence **(AN: So did I and I totally love it! xD)** from Eris, a hoodie from Toji, 'She's the Man' DVD from Yume, and much more.

_'Funny, I never did get Kai's present.'_

As if on cue, Kai turned up with a not so neatly wrapped package in his arms.

"Merry Christmas and Happy Anniversary," he whispered as he settled down next to me, still not giving me the package I was eyeing with uncontained interest, "I hope you're not mad about this present being late since I was your Secret Santa."

I 'oh'ed in acknowledge as I continued to stare at the wrapped present.

_'I wonder what it can be.'_

"You know," he started, "I always thought you were perfect. You defeated me and countless other powerful bladers. Also, you can do almost everything – drawing, music, sports. This is a new side of you I've never seen before, but I like it. It lets me know you're not perfect."

"Gee thanks, Kai," I drawled sarcastically, glaring at him playfully. It was good to know that he wasn't all stuck up Mr. Prissy Pant anymore. It was probably because he didn't want me to find out his surprise for me. Finally, he handed over the present which I unwrapped not so neatly.

"You know, Kai," I began as I opened the box only to have my eyes bulge out of my head in surprise, "You're not so perfect either."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

A cookie to anyone who can guess what was in the box. xD I totally enjoyed writing this oneshot, even though it's an extremely _long_ oneshot. I tried to do a bit of humor, so if it sucks, sorry. Also, this fic is just one of those festive things even thought it has a bit of the plot in it, such as Tala's depression, Tamayo's coma, Kai's newly developed pervertedness –hint hint–, and last but not least, Reine's denseness. At least you know that Reine isn't perfect and is human –glares at all of you that thought she was an alien from Mars–. Anyway, sorry if this wasn't done on time –cough– on Christmas –cough–. I sorta fell asleep at the computer halfway through. -.-; Sorry. Well, it's a day late, but still, Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year. I have no clue when the next chapter is going to be up because my schedule is uncertain right now.

Please **R&R!**

Rand-chan


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